Kindergarten through 6th Grade Enrollment
This page is to answer questions about the enrollment process for Laramie Montessori School. This page only has frequently asked questions so if your question is not answered here please contact us by using the above button or the information on our Contact Us page.
Laramie Montessori School
Laramie Montessori School is a free public charter school connected to Albany County School District #1. Being a public charter school in the district we have access to all the state and federal programs, transportation, special education, and school lunch and breakfast opportunities as the regular schools of the zone. We are also held to the same state standards of testing as the regular schools in the district, namely the WY-TOPP testing. We are an accredited school in the state of Wyoming and we are always striving to improve our student's learning environment. The difference between our charter schools and regular public schools is that we are free to choose our teaching methods and curriculum as long as it meets or exceeds the state and federal standards. We are also free to hire quality teachers and receive training outside the normal district schools of the zone. This allows us the versatility to offer a unique education through an integration of the Montessori Philosophy with state and federal programs proven to help children. We have the ability to choose what we offer so that we can provide the best education tools for our students' success.
2023-2024 School Year Enrollment
****************************IMPORTANT REGISTRATION INFORMATION**********************************
The Wyoming state legislature passed House Bill 0174 on January 18, 2021, which includes section 21-4-302 which changed the age requirement for registering for kindergarten.
Under the new law, students must turn five on or before August 1 of this year to be enrolled in kindergarten for the 2023-2024 school year. If your student's birth date is after August 1st and before September 15th then you can register and request a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment from our school. Enrollment will be contingent on receiving the assessment and the student's readiness. Laramie Montessori School does our Kindergarten Readiness Assessments in about 45 minutes, and after the assessment is complete our teachers will write up their recommendation and meet with you by phone or in person to discuss the results. When you return the registration form found below please indicate that your student requires the assessment.
*The Kindergarten Readiness Assessment from Laramie Montessori School is only for our school. Other ACSD#1 schools may require their own Kindergarten Readiness Assessment which may or may not have the same results as ours is a different assessment than other schools use. You will need to contact the school you wish to transfer to in order to schedule a new Kindergarten Readiness Assessment if needed. *
*********************************************************************************************************
Registration
Fill out the Registration Form below and return it to the Laramie Montessori School Office by email (cclar@acsd1.org), mail (608 S. 4th St.), or in person (Mon-Fri 8 am- 4 pm). If you would like to schedule a tour or have any questions, please contact Christina at 307-742-9964.
The lottery for open spaces during the 2023-2024 school year will be held on April 5th, 2023, and we will begin receiving Registration Forms for that lottery in January 2023. After the lottery remaining spaces are filled on a first come, first served basis.
More Information: These links are found under "Parent Resources: About Montessori" located on the Menu.
About Early Childhood Education (Preschool & Kindergarten)
About Lower Elementary Education (1st-3rd Grade)
About Upper Elementary Education (4th-6th Grade)
About Fine Arts and Physical Education in Montessori
Montessori Information and Links
“Our care of the child should be governed, not by the desire to make him learn things, but by the endeavor always to keep burning within him that light which is called intelligence.”
― Maria Montessori
Laramie Montessori School Registration Form 2024-2025
Laramie Montessori Charter School is a free public school that works within the Albany County School District #1 to provide a child-centered education for students from Kindergarten - 6th grade in Laramie, WY.
The Enrollment Process
This page is to explain the enrollment process of our school. The following sections have more details on each section along with any paperwork or references that belong with that section. Here is the process of enrollment:
Fill out and submit a Registration Form. Registration forms are for the lottery and for attending school.
Contact Laramie Montessori for an observation, a tour, and/or a meeting with our school Director (optional)
The Lottery: If there is a lottery your registration form automatically enters your child.
Lottery results: Parents are notified of placement
Enrollment Packet
Kindergarten Step Ahead Program at Laramie Montessori School
Free Summer School program for new Kindergarten students
Albany County School District #1
Online Enrollment
School Supplies, Snacks, and the Snack Pantry
The Lottery
Laramie Montessori is a small school with small class sizes. In order to keep our student-to-teacher ratio low we have a set number of students per class. This allows students to have more one-on-one time with the teachers and allows classrooms to develop a sense of community without feeling overcrowded.
At this time Laramie Montessori has these classrooms and class sizes, though this is subject to change:
1 Primary classroom with 30 students ages 3-6 years maximum
2 1st-3rd grade classrooms with 23 students maximum
1 4th-6th grade classroom with 23 students maximum
The lottery for the 2023-2024 school year has not been scheduled. This is a joint decision by all the schools in Laramie that require lotteries. It will probably be around April 5th.
In order to comply with federal and state charter school statutes, we must use a lottery for enrollment in the event more students apply for admission to Laramie Montessori School than we can admit.
Laramie Montessori School gives priority to the following students in the lottery:
Children of founding members
Siblings of currently enrolled students
Children who completed the previous school year at Laramie Montessori School are re-enrolled for the next year through the Intent to Re-enroll form and do not participate in the lottery.
The lottery is done every year in order to randomly choose new students for enrollment as per federal law if there are more applicants than spaces. Families who are chosen for enrollment by this random process are notified soon after the lottery and have a period of time to choose whether they wish to enroll their child or children. When a family chooses not to keep their spot or spots, then any families on the waiting list are given the option of accepting those enrollment spots and have a period of time to decide. Laramie Montessori highly recommends keeping your child's name on the waiting list as there is always a chance of families giving up their enrollment unexpectedly. The waiting list is created every year.
Above is the Registration form that you can download and submit in order to register for school. The Registration Form will also enter your student automatically in the lottery if one is held. The lottery is held on April 7th this year and the forms need to be submitted before or on that date. You can submit your lottery form in four ways:
By mail:
Laramie Montessori School
608 South 4th St.
Laramie, WY 82070
By email:
Jacy Meehan, Administrative Assistant
jmeehan@acsd1.org
Jeff Verosky, Director
jverosky@acsd1.org
In-person:
Please feel free to stop by anytime during our business hours to pick up or submit your Registration form to the front office.
Business hours: 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM (MT) Monday-Friday (excluding holidays), late August through early June.
We do have summer hours, but they vary from year to year.
By fax:
Our fax number is (307) 201-6965. We highly recommend calling after you fax your documents to confirm that they have been received.
We strongly suggest that all prospective parents schedule a classroom observation the year before they enroll their students so that they have an opportunity to see our educational philosophy in action. Our Director tries to make sure she is available afterward to answer questions. If you wish to schedule an observation or a tour please call the Laramie Montessori office at (307) 742-9964 or email Christina at cclar@acsd1.org at least 24 hours in advance.
Final Paperwork
After the Registration is complete then we have some final pieces of paperwork that we need:
Immunizations or Exemption
Birth Certificate
Online Student Registration
Free and Reduced Lunch Form
Permission Slip
Student Information and Pickup Permission
According to state law, parents have 30 days from the first day of school to provide both a copy of their child's birth certificate and completed immunizations. If for some reason your family cannot make this deadline please notify us as soon as possible as we may be able to help with extensions to this deadline.
Immunization Exemption
Wyoming does allow for both Medical and Religious Exemptions from immunization requirements. There are certain rules stated in the above Wyoming Immunization Rules and Regulations that students and parents who choose to get exemptions must follow in the case of an infectious disease outbreak in school. The paperwork provided below is to apply for the Medical or Religious exemption if you choose. Please follow the directions carefully. We are providing this paperwork as a service to our community and are not advocating immunization exemptions. Please consult a doctor or other health care provider for more information, questions, and concerns about immunization exemptions.
Waivers-Wyoming Department of Health
ACSD #1 Paperwork
Online Student Registration
Every year ACSD#1 requires that parents do the Online Registration forms. The instructions and the link to the Parent PowerSchool Portal are found on the ACSD#1 website under Resources - Parent Resources - Online Registration Instructions. This paperwork does not become available until August.
Free and Reduced Lunch Program
The Free and Reduced Lunch Program is a Federal program for qualifying families that either reduces the cost of school lunches or provides them to children for free. This program has its own qualifications that are separate from any other government program. This form needs to be filled out every year in order to participate in the Free and Reduced Lunch Program. Only one form is needed per family/household.
This form is very important to our school as the forms are used to determine our Title 1 Reading Program funding. Title 1 is a reading program to help all students in a school who need it, not just the Free and Reduced Lunch Program qualifying students. This is one of the programs that Laramie Montessori wants to be able to offer our students in order to provide them with quality education. So we ask all families to please fill out this form even if they are planning on never using or participating in school lunch.
School Supplies, Snacks, and the Snack Pantry
School Supplies- Individual Class lists are listed under our Classrooms Tab
We do ask that you provide a few items for your child:
Non-marking outside/gym shoes: These can be the shoes that your child wears to school every day.
Inside shoes: These shoes need to be a set of comfortable and flexible shoes (like slippers) that are worn for classroom work. They stay at school in the classrooms.
An extra set of clothing for Kindergarten students with their name or a distinguishing mark on the tag.
Water bottle
Winter Gear: hat, gloves, winter coat (snow pants & snow boots suggested)
Donate snacks once a month for your student classroom
Donate one or more classroom supplies from our needed donation list
Please make sure that your child has appropriate clothing and shoes for the weather, as we encourage children to be outside when they can. If your family is in need of assistance with winter clothing or other basic needs, please view our Family Assistance page or call our office at Laramie Montessori School. All conversations will remain confidential.
Snack and the Snack Pantry
Snack
Laramie Montessori School believes that snack during the morning encourages children to be happy and healthy thus allowing them to better concentrate and learn throughout the day. Our snacks in the classes are set up like work or material. The children are allowed only one turn at snack but get to choose when they go. They get their own plates, and follow the directions for the snack, then when they are done they are taught to put their plate, utensils, and cup in the sink to be washed. Snack is a part of our Practical Life curriculum, as well as part of the other classroom chores in which the students participate.
Dietary restrictions and food allergies in our classroom are taken very seriously. If your child has a severe food allergy please make sure that their teachers and the school administrators are aware of it at the time your child registers for school or as soon as possible. With dietary restrictions or sensitivities that are for very common foods or food elements, such as milk or wheat gluten, please let your child's teacher know. You may be asked to provide a snack for your child in the classroom so that they can have a morning snack if what is available to the class cannot be eaten by them. If you feel that your child's allergy needs a 504 Plan, please discuss this with our School Director, Jeff Verosky.
Snack Pantry
When Laramie Montessori School first opened each Lower Elementary and Kindergarten classroom had a snack calendar where a snack for a day was assigned to each child in the classroom. We realized that this was placing a large burden on families for many reasons. Therefore, Laramie Montessori developed the Snack Pantry. This is a collection of food that any of the classrooms can draw off of that contains food items donated by parents and staff. You can instead donate snacks to your child's classroom instead of the Snack Pantry. This allows parents to be able to donate when they can rather than provide snacks on a schedule, and it allows classrooms to have a variety of items to choose from for snacks. We do prefer that healthy, low-sugar snacks be provided. Please no candy, Go-Gurts, cheese puffs, or other high-sugar, low-nutrition snacks.
Some suggestions for donations for snacks and the Snack Pantry:
Breads
Crackers of all types
Nuts
Trail mix
Fresh fruit
Dehydrated fruit
Cheese sticks
Vegetables
Homemade items are welcome
Please help us provide variety in our snacks through your generosity!